6. We've got to ask you some Red Sox questions. Do you believe in the curse?

Do I believe in it? No, but it certainly makes a powerful argument from time to time. I mean, I don't believe in curses, but I do think that we've been under a cloud here and there. I was 30 yards away from Billy Buckner in that famous Shea Stadium game in '86. So I've been there in the heartbreaks. And I was screaming at the television set when Grady did not pull Pedro out.

N.M. GOVERNOR DETAILS HIS STATE'S SUCCESS STORY
Published on October 26, 1986
Author(s): Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff
"New Mexico's governor, who holds the highest elected post of any Hispanic nationwide, and the head of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination were given awards for political excellence last night by the Massachusetts Latino Democratic Committee.

More than 250 people -- including Gov. Dukakis, US Sen. John Kerry and an array of state Cabinet members -- attended the banquet at the World Trade Center in South Boston honoring Gov. Toney Anaya and Alex Rodriguez."

Despite doubts by watchdog groups about the logistics of being at two events at the same time, Sen. John Kerry did attend both a political banquet in Boston and Game 6 of the 1986 World Series in New York on the same night 18 years ago, according to the Democratic presidential candidate's senior campaign advisor.
[...]
"Sen. Kerry attended a public event in [Massachusetts] in the early evening and hopped a shuttle flight from Boston to NYC. [Kerry] got to Shea with the game in progress," Michael Meehan, Kerry's senior campaign advisor, wrote to ESPN.com in an e-mail. "Remember the Sox were up 3-2 so all of Red Sox Nation was planning for a Series win."

It is highly unlikely that Kerry attended both a political dinner in Boston and the World Series game in New York on the same night. According to Baseball-Almanac.com the game (remember, an extra-inning affair) lasted 4:02 hours. According to a first-person account by a fan, Bill Lehecka, who attended the game, Game 6 started at 8:30 p.m. That means the 10 inning game ended at around 12:32 a.m.

Kerry claims he took a shuttle flight from Boston to New York. I believe (this is where I'm iffy so I hope someone can point out if I'm wrong here) that the Delta Shuttle was the only operating shuttle during the mid 1980's. I'm also unsure if Delta offered more Saturday flights back then, but I doubt it. Examining Delta Shuttle's current schedule for Saturday night flights, one notices that the last shuttle flight from Boston to New York leaves at 8:30 p.m.

As for that political dinner, why would it occur during the "early evening" on a Saturday night? Assume that the dinner was early and that Kerry left Boston's World Trade Center for the airport. Remember, in 1986 he was not yet married to Teresa Heinz and her billions. He couldn't get a helicopter to zip him around, he had to deal with Boston traffic. This was before the Ted Williams Tunnel was built.

Kerry would, presumably, had to have left the dinner no later than 7:30 to fight through Boston traffic and make it to the shuttle, on time. A flight from Boston to New York take about 1:15. Assume that Kerry's flight left on time, landed on time and he had to fight through normal New York traffic to get to Shea Stadium. Therefore, one has to assume that John Kerry settled into his Shea Stadium seat at 10:30 p.m., a full 2 hours after the game started!

Remember, the game went into extra-innings. The Red Sox scored 2 runs in the top of the 10th and the Mets scored 3 runs in the bottom of the inning. The extra frame probably added at least 30 minutes to the length of the game. The lasted 4:02. There was no way of knowing, when boarding the plane, whether the game would be a short pitcher's duel or a long tension-filled affair.

Is it possible that Kerry attended an "early" dinner and then flew to New York for the baseball game? Yes. Is it likely that this happened? No way, the key is how early did the dinner actually take place.

If anyone could refute any of the information please do - I'm especially interested in the shuttle flight information (i.e., schedule and airlines).